This article was written by uShaka Sea World.
This World Turtle Day weekend (23rd/24th May), we are celebrating more than 60 years of turtle conservation, rehabilitation and release at uShaka Sea World, a journey that started with Myrtle, the rescued turtle and very first resident of the original Durban Aquarium.
One of our latest success stories is Andy, the rescued Green sea turtle, who turned out to be a true KZN South Coast local. After his rescue from the uMzimkhulu Estuary and release with a satellite tag, Andy spent 6 months between Umtentweni and Southbroom, never venturing far from shore and remaining within a 30 km stretch of coastline.
Adult Green turtles are vegetarian grazers, and the algae-rich rocky reefs of the South Coast clearly provided Andy with the perfect “staycation” destination. Even within this small range, he still travelled more than 700 km while exploring local feeding areas.
Tracking Andy was especially important because we rarely get the opportunity to study adult male sea turtles. His movements showed us that some turtles are perfectly happy to stay ‘local’ rather than travel vast distances.
A huge thank you to the KZN Marine Stranding Network, Andy Coetzee, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, and everyone who helped make Andy’s journey possible.
If you are able to visit uShaka Sea World this weekend, we have planned some fun turtle awareness activities and look forward to celebrating these incredible ocean travellers with you.
Picture: Supplied